5 Commandments for using a helper (On Topic)

[BostonBo]

Its been 5 days with my helper, and he hasn't whipped out his phone once. First time in years!

 

[scooby0048]

#1--Thou shalt make safety thy first concern.

On day 1, I always give my helper a 5 min lecture on staying safe. That means NO RUNNING, PERIOD. That means 100% use of the handrail when entering or exiting, no exceptions. That means that, if I screw up and start the engine before they have the seatbelt buckled, they are to YELL at me to STOP. We are in a HURRY, which means I dont have time to take them to the hospital if they get injured. There is always time to do the job safely, and no package is ever worth getting hurt or killed over.

#2 Thou shalt treat thine helper with respect.

I treat my helper as a teammate, not a slave. Out of necessity I must be the boss, but I dont have to be an ass about it. When instructing them what to do, I throw in a few "please's" and "thank you's" here and there to keep things friendly. I encourage them to be an extra set of eyes and to never be afraid to tell me if they think I am at the wrong address. I screw up sometimes, especially under peak season conditions, and I'm not afraid to admit it. My helper gets a "high five" if they call me on giving them the wrong package for the stop. Most importantly...if I am frustrated or upset with management or with the workload in general, I dont take it out on them. Its not the helpers fault that the load is crap or that my boss is a maroon.

#3 Thou shalt see to it that thine helper is properly paid for their time

If you lack the willingess to pull over and take a 1/2 hour lunch and 15 min break....then at least allow your helper to do so. Or...dont enter a lunch at all on their time card. Whatever you do, make sure they are fully paid for every minute they spend working. They are barely making minimum wage, you make 4 or even 5 times what they do on OT, so dont screw them out of 15 minutes of pay just so that you can look better on a stupid report. I also give my helpers my phone # and instruct them to notify me of any payroll errors or shortages on their check. If my helper gets shorted, I make it my personal mission in life to find whoever is responsible and ride their ass like a dirty diaper if necessary until the problem gets corrected. For $9 an hour they shouldnt have to call a 1-800 number and argue about getting paid properly.

#4 Thou shalt not place unrealistic expectations upon thine helper

I've been a driver for 24 years. I know how to operate at the "UPS pace". A newly hired helper doesnt. They cant read my mind. What comes automatically to me is new to them. They probably have little or no useful DIAD training, and the first day on a blown-out package car can seem overwhelming to them. Be patient. They will pick things up faster if you are understanding and helpful instead of impatient and critical. Respect any physical limits your helper may have. I have had 100 lb gals who needed my help with heavy packages, but who were still going strong after 10 hrs and were far better helpers than the "he-men" with big muscles who got lazy and crapped out on me after 4 or 5. And if you have a female helper who needs more "bathroom stops" than you do...deal with it. I always communicate with my helper about the location of nearby restrooms, and if they gotta go they gotta go. It is totally inappropriate to expect a helper of either gender to pee in the bushes or go 8 hrs with no bathroom break just because you can.

#5 Thou shalt share thine tips and buy thine helper lunch.

Helpers are making barely more than minimum wage. Drivers make 5 times that much on overtime. If I have a helper who is hustling and working hard, then the occasional $5 or $10 bill that comes to me in a card from a customer gets handed to them. When we stop at a restraunt for lunch, I pick up the tab for both of us. I have had a lot of helpers who were literally broke (why else would they work for minimum wage) and they show up with some nasty cold lunch in a brown bag. I am not going to sit in a warm restraunt and eat yummy food while they sit in the cold truck and eat leftovers. That's not teamwork.


Thou shalt obey these commandments without question, or karma will kick your ass!

Sober, good thread, always enjoy reading this every year. Maybe @cheryl or @tonyexpress can merge the threads and clean out all the jibber jabber and lock it and make it a sticky so it can be read all year round from the frontpage.

 

[unsecured1]

Supervisors should do their job and train the helpers. Another employee especially a temporary one is not my responsibility. Nor is any work performed by them.

 

[joeboodog]

Just a couple of things,

My co-worker said his driver dropped him off with multiple stops worth of boxes and then told him to meet him a few blocks away. Is that what being a driver helper is? Running after a truck after they make you deliver ? He described it as literally running after the truck.

Depends on your area. If a driver has an apartment or condo complex and the helper can use the DIAD, it makes sense to drop the helper off with that area while the driver delivers another section.

At my center there is a reminder that says "Helpers are humans not robots". I like that. I have a question though, do they put female helpers with male drivers and vice versa? I'm just wondering cause I would prefer to be with the same gender. But I can manage if it weren't that way.

Unless a driver has secured a helper, it is often luck of the draw. To me it doesn't matter if the helper is male or female. What matters is if they can do the job well.

Yeah I believe my center has maybe 7 female drivers. Lol I'm Okay with being paired with a male driver I just prefer to be paired with a female. I dont understand the attitude these drivers have on this website. Think they're hot. Also if i were to disclose my reasoning I'd probably get on about that too.

Please drop the attitude. In any group there will be jerks, male or female. My two best helpers were a male for two years and a woman for two years. They were smart, able to carry on a conversation, and were hard workers. You are there to do a job, not find a date.

 

[joeboodog]

I'm not having an attitude. So please drop yours. I was looking for advice. And I have received it plenty on here. I said i would deal with it either way. So drop it already. Thanks.

Perhaps you missed my point. A good helper can make or break a drivers day. I have had my fair share of both. This time of year gets insanely busy and most drivers have certain expectations from their helpers. Myself, I don't have the time or desire to deal with a helper's personal drama. Just get the job done.

 

[1989]

I'm not having an attitude. So please drop yours. I was looking for advice. And I have received it plenty on here. I said i would deal with it either way. So drop it already. Thanks.

The saying "helpers are humans not robots" is just words. I don't know who made that up, but it's garbage. Although your center manager is a good guy, the guy above him is a jerk, as you may very well know. If your center really cared about people, they would take a second look at their bonus drivers and their methods.

 

[What The Hawk?]

Did i use it last time? Uh no. Maybe if you read my other comments you would see that I said i will try to clean it up. I don't want your respect I don't know you, you don't know me. And i dont want to know you. You're all strangers on the internet.

 

[What The Hawk?]

Perhaps you missed my point. A good helper can make or break a drivers day. I have had my fair share of both. This time of year gets insanely busy and most drivers have certain expectations from their helpers. Myself, I don't have the time or desire to deal with a helper's personal drama. Just get the job done.

Oh I know dude. I promise I dont act like this at work. lol

 

[Catatonic]

The saying "helpers are humans not robots" is just words. I don't know who made that up, but it's garbage. Although your center manager is a good guy, the guy above him is a jerk, as you may very well know. If your center really cared about people, they would take a second look at their bonus drivers and their methods.

Let me guess, you run over-allowed!

 

[1989]

Let me guess, you run over-allowed!

Sometimes, depends on the time study on the area. I run from 45 minutes over to 1.5 hours under. My point is the culture in hawkreich's bonus center.

 

[Coldworld]

Supervisors should do their job and train the helpers. Another employee especially a temporary one is not my responsibility. Nor is any work performed by them.

I know...ups seems to have a problem with everything we do out there... So much so that they micromanage the s out of us and then they want us to "train" helpers who will be utilized for a month and leave...they don't trust us for 11 months and during Christmas they say it's ok....

 

[Coldworld]

Just a couple of things,

Depends on your area. If a driver has an apartment or condo complex and the helper can use the DIAD, it makes sense to drop the helper off with that area while the driver delivers another section.

Unless a driver has secured a helper, it is often luck of the draw. To me it doesn't matter if the helper is male or female. What matters is if they can do the job well.

Please drop the attitude. In any group there will be jerks, male or female. My two best helpers were a male for two years and a woman for two years. They were smart, able to carry on a conversation, and were hard workers. You are there to do a job, not find a date.

What's wrong with getting a little somethin' somethin' on the side....nobody likes a hater!!!

 

[GillEagan]

why in little baby jesuses name would you take lunch with a helper

The only time I take a lunch with the driver is if I will be working late with him. Otherwise it's just a couple of breaks only.

 

[GillEagan]

#1--Thou shalt make safety thy first concern.

On day 1, I always give my helper a 5 min lecture on staying safe. That means NO RUNNING, PERIOD. That means 100% use of the handrail when entering or exiting, no exceptions. That means that, if I screw up and start the engine before they have the seatbelt buckled, they are to YELL at me to STOP. We are in a HURRY, which means I dont have time to take them to the hospital if they get injured. There is always time to do the job safely, and no package is ever worth getting hurt or killed over.

#2 Thou shalt treat thine helper with respect.

I treat my helper as a teammate, not a slave. Out of necessity I must be the boss, but I dont have to be an ass about it. When instructing them what to do, I throw in a few "please's" and "thank you's" here and there to keep things friendly. I encourage them to be an extra set of eyes and to never be afraid to tell me if they think I am at the wrong address. I screw up sometimes, especially under peak season conditions, and I'm not afraid to admit it. My helper gets a "high five" if they call me on giving them the wrong package for the stop. Most importantly...if I am frustrated or upset with management or with the workload in general, I dont take it out on them. Its not the helpers fault that the load is crap or that my boss is a maroon.

#3 Thou shalt see to it that thine helper is properly paid for their time

If you lack the willingess to pull over and take a 1/2 hour lunch and 15 min break....then at least allow your helper to do so. Or...dont enter a lunch at all on their time card. Whatever you do, make sure they are fully paid for every minute they spend working. They are barely making minimum wage, you make 4 or even 5 times what they do on OT, so dont screw them out of 15 minutes of pay just so that you can look better on a stupid report. I also give my helpers my phone # and instruct them to notify me of any payroll errors or shortages on their check. If my helper gets shorted, I make it my personal mission in life to find whoever is responsible and ride their ass like a dirty diaper if necessary until the problem gets corrected. For $9 an hour they shouldnt have to call a 1-800 number and argue about getting paid properly.

#4 Thou shalt not place unrealistic expectations upon thine helper

I've been a driver for 24 years. I know how to operate at the "UPS pace". A newly hired helper doesnt. They cant read my mind. What comes automatically to me is new to them. They probably have little or no useful DIAD training, and the first day on a blown-out package car can seem overwhelming to them. Be patient. They will pick things up faster if you are understanding and helpful instead of impatient and critical. Respect any physical limits your helper may have. I have had 100 lb gals who needed my help with heavy packages, but who were still going strong after 10 hrs and were far better helpers than the "he-men" with big muscles who got lazy and crapped out on me after 4 or 5. And if you have a female helper who needs more "bathroom stops" than you do...deal with it. I always communicate with my helper about the location of nearby restrooms, and if they gotta go they gotta go. It is totally inappropriate to expect a helper of either gender to pee in the bushes or go 8 hrs with no bathroom break just because you can.

#5 Thou shalt share thine tips and buy thine helper lunch.

Helpers are making barely more than minimum wage. Drivers make 5 times that much on overtime. If I have a helper who is hustling and working hard, then the occasional $5 or $10 bill that comes to me in a card from a customer gets handed to them. When we stop at a restraunt for lunch, I pick up the tab for both of us. I have had a lot of helpers who were literally broke (why else would they work for minimum wage) and they show up with some nasty cold lunch in a brown bag. I am not going to sit in a warm restraunt and eat yummy food while they sit in the cold truck and eat leftovers. We are a team and we eat together.


Thou shalt obey these commandments without question, or thou shalt be deemed an ass.

Some of the drivers in my area do this and some don't.

 

[Savvy412]

Once you get over loosing your set routine and just having someone else to worry about. It is actually pretty nice .... I'm going to miss it .

Mine is constantly on her phone , but the second I pull up, I turn my PC off, she's hopped out waiting for the package .. so I don't care . She was taking selfies today haha

 

[dookie stain]

My helper today was slow...he seemed like he was high as hell...and he said he had to leave after an hour and a half even though I was supposed to have him for 6...yay

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

My helper today was slow...he seemed like he was high as hell...and he said he had to leave after an hour and a half even though I was supposed to have him for 6...yay

Did you drop his ass off and wish him well in his future endeavors?

 

[Boulevard859710]

True. Some helpers think they can set their own hours sometimes. The point is to make extra money. Some I don't think have the desire sometimes.

 

[pickup]

Its been 5 days with my helper, and he hasn't whipped out his phone once. First time in years!

He's a keeper, .... Well kind of.

 

[Whargoul]

Yeah, that. First helper I get this year - Waited for 30 mins for the to show up . Called center after the first 15mins to see where he was. I end up leaveing meet point to get back on route. Center contacts helper and has him call me. I tell guy to meet me at this business up the road from our first meet point. I go to meet point and wait another 15 mins. I call dude and ask where the he is. I find out he has been somewhere 30 mins away down the road- not even anywhere near the first meet point or area I specifically gave an address and directions to. Wasted an hour of my time.